Tuesday, 6 June 2017
Location: Hawai‘i Convention Center, Exhibit Hall
Time: 9:30-17:00

Click here to view the detailed SDC schedule.

As part of the IMS Technical Program, the Student Design Competition (SDC) is one of the most energetic parts of IMS. The SDCs have proven to be very successful events in the past 12 years, as evidenced by the ever increasing student participation and support from organizers. Past competitions have covered challenging and emerging topics in RF and microwave field within the specialties of the 27 MTT-S Technical Committees. A great number of outstanding presentations have been demonstrated and competed at SDCs, which promotes hands-on activities and encourages innovation among students. IMS2017, in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, will continue the legendary tradition of enthusiasm with a very strong SDC program.

To all full-time University Students:

All eligible students or student teams are invited to consider taking part in the Student Design Competitions (SDC) during the IMS2017 Microwave Week in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA. The SDC is one of the most exciting part of the IMS. This is the only IMS event that students get to put theories into real hardware and software designs.

The table below provides a summary of all SDCs at IMS2017. Please click on SDC titles to view a downloadable PDF of the rules for each SDC.

Students interested to participate in one of the above SDCs are encouraged to contact the organizers in each topic directly with questions about a specific SDC. SDC application instructions are posted here. For all other questions or suggestions, please contact the IMS2017 Student Design Competition Committee via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

All SDCs will take place on Tuesday, 6 June 2017, with the competition winners recognized at the Student Awards Luncheon on Thursday, 8 June 2017. Student competitors should be aware that the IMS will not assist participants in getting necessary equipment or designed circuits/systems shipped into the United States.

General Rules and Requirements:

a) There may be between 1 and 4 people working together on a project.

b) You and any team partners must be full-time students while you are working on the project.

c) At least one of you must register for IMS2017 and attend. One or more of you will be standing with your project and answering questions while it is being tested/judged on Tuesday of Microwave Week 2017.

d) You must notify the student design competition organizers a week before the date of the judging if you need to withdraw from the competition or will not be able to participate in person. Failure to participate in person may prevent you from being accepted for future participation.

e) Your professors and advisors must certify that this is your work, not theirs.

f) You may only enter one project. It may be either an entry in one of the Student Design Competitions or a separate live Student Design Demonstration.

g) You must submit an abstract of your design approach and complete the Student Design Competition Submission Process (instructions here) absolutely no later than the specified date in the table above. You are encouraged to contact the coordinators of the competition of your interest to ensure a full understanding of the design specifications and judging criteria before your submission.

h) Travel visas and shipping of your project equipment are your responsibility.

Student Design Competitions are sponsored by the 27 Technical Committees of the MTT-S. Each committee has been given $2000 in prize money if they choose to sponsor a competition in their technical area. Not all technical committees participate in the competition every year. Each has made their own rules for the competitions that they sponsor. Please refer to the links in the table above for SDC rules/details.